Maple Syrup – Rite of Spring
Maple syrup comes from the sap of the sugar maple and is a rite of spring for Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec provinces. It was was a staple of the natives of eastern North America before the arrival of the first European settlers. In fact, it was the Iroquois who found that cooking deer meat in the sap could preserve the it which led to maple-cured meats. Early French settlers from the native peoples how to tap trees to obtain sap and boil it down either to syrup or sugar slabs to store.
The sap starts in the spring as the days become warmer and temperature rises above 0°C (32F, or freezing ) during the day. A flow of sap that is tapped by drilling holes into the maple whereby the watery sap rushes out of these holes and into either a bucket or, in commercial use, a sap-flow system. This flow slows during the day and, in the evening, the tree produces more for the next day. During the 6 week season the tree will give up about 7% of its sap.
Canada produces about 79% of the maple syrup harvested every year and out if this Quebec accounts for 90%. However, expert chefs from all over Europe prefer the taste and texture of the syrup grown in Nova Scotia. There are large parties and tours dedicated to the maple harvest. One ritual around harvest time is to pour the watery sap over snow balls and eat them like a frozen treat.
For more information how you can participate in this spring festival got to Outdoors Nova Scotia
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